554 research outputs found
Syndecan-4 knockout leads to reduced extracellular transglutaminase-2 and protects against tubulointerstitial fibrosis
Transglutaminase type 2 (TG2) is an extracellular matrix crosslinking enzyme with a pivotal role in kidney fibrosis. The interaction of TG2 with the heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-4 (Sdc4) regulates the cell surface trafficking, localization, and activity of TG2 in vitro but remains unstudied in vivo. We tested the hypothesis that Sdc4 is required for cell surface targeting of TG2 and the development of kidney fibrosis in CKD. Wild-type and Sdc4-null mice were subjected to unilateral ureteric obstruction and aristolochic acid nephropathy (AAN) as experimental models of kidney fibrosis. Analysis of renal scarring by Masson trichrome staining, kidney hydroxyproline levels, and collagen immunofluorescence demonstrated progressive fibrosis associated with increases in extracellular TG2 and TG activity in the tubulointerstitium in both models. Knockout of Sdc-4 reduced these effects and prevented AAN-induced increases in total and active TGF-b1. In wild-type mice subjected to AAN, extracellular TG2 colocalized with Sdc4 in the tubular interstitium and basement membrane, where TG2 also colocalized with heparan sulfate chains. Heparitinase I, which selectively cleaves heparan sulfate, completely abolished extracellular TG2 in normal and diseased kidney sections. In conclusion, the lack of Sdc4 heparan sulfate chains in the kidneys of Sdc4-null mice abrogates injury-induced externalization of TG2, thereby preventing profibrotic crosslinking of extracellular matrix and recruitment of large latent TGF-b1. This finding suggests that targeting the TG2- Sdc4 interaction may provide a specific interventional strategy for the treatment of CKD
Environmental disclosure and Eco-innovation interrelation. The case of Spanish firms
The actual drivers of companies' environmental disclosure have been widely studied and yet with no conclusive results. Most literature looks for the link between environmental performance and environmental disclosure, as reflection of the company instrumental or normative approach to sustainability. However, over the last decade, a growing number of companies are joining the ranks of eco-innovation, focusing their strategy on environmental innovation, and paving the way for new approaches to environmental disclosure. The main objective of this paper is to assess if eco-innovation in companies can be acting as a non-intended driver to disclosure of environmental reporting, in connection to the Resources Based View theory, and the search for competitive advantage. An extensive research has been undertaken with Spanish eco-innovative companies, evaluating their environmental disclosure standards from a two-fold perspective: managers' perception and public available environmental reporting. The findings bring in interesting implications about the mismatch between managers' perception of their environmental disclosure and accounting standards, and the actual disclosure of environmental reporting made available to their stakeholders. Within the studied sample, eco-innovation appears to be a driver for environmental disclosure from an inside-out approach encompassed in the RBV theory, where environmental information is primarily meant for managerial purposes and only secondarily to inform stakeholders.
Los impulsores reales de la divulgación ambiental de las empresas han sido ampliamente estudiados y, sin embargo, sin resultados concluyentes. La mayoría de la literatura busca el vínculo entre el desempeño ambiental y la divulgación ambiental, como reflejo del enfoque instrumental o normativo de la compañía hacia la sostenibilidad. Sin embargo, durante la última década, un número creciente de compañías se están uniendo a las filas de la ecoinnovación, enfocando su estrategia en la innovación ambiental y allanando el camino para nuevos enfoques para la divulgación ambiental.
El objetivo principal de este documento es evaluar si la ecoinnovación en las empresas puede actuar como un impulsor no intencionado de la divulgación de informes ambientales, en relación con la teoría de la Vista basada en los recursos y la búsqueda de una ventaja competitiva. Se ha llevado a cabo una extensa investigación con empresas ecoinnovadoras españolas, evaluando sus estándares de divulgación ambiental desde una doble perspectiva: la percepción de los administradores y la información ambiental disponible al público.
Los hallazgos traen implicaciones interesantes sobre el desajuste entre la percepción de los gerentes sobre su divulgación ambiental y sus normas contables, y la divulgación real de los informes ambientales puestos a disposición de sus partes interesadas. Dentro de la muestra estudiada, la ecoinnovación parece ser un impulsor para la divulgación ambiental desde un enfoque integral incluido en la teoría de la RBV, donde la información ambiental se destina principalmente a fines administrativos y solo de manera secundaria a informar a los interesados
Characterization of Pseudomonas spp. Isolated from Foods
Putative Pseudomonas spp. (102 isolates) from different foods were first characterised by API 20NE and then tested for some
enzymatic activities (lipase and lecithinase production, starch hydrolysis and proteolytic activity). However subsequent molecular tests
did not always confirm the results obtained, thus highlighting the limits of API 20NE. Instead RFLP ITS1 and the sequencing of 16S rRNA
gene grouped the isolates into 6 clusters: Pseudomonas fluorescens (cluster I), Pseudomonas fragi (cluster II and V) Pseudomonas
migulae (cluster III), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (cluster IV) and Pseudomonas chicorii (cluster VI). The pectinolytic activity was typical
of species isolated from vegetable products, especially Pseudomonas fluorescens. Instead Pseudomonas fragi, predominantly isolated
from meat was characterised by proteolytic and lipolytic activities
¿Reportar mediciones o midiendo para reportar? Medición interna de la Economía Circular desde una perspectiva de la contabilidad medioambiental y su interrelación
This paper aims to provide a model to measure the circular economy in businesses from an environmental
accounting approach. The range of circular activities and the intensity with which companies implement
them are analysed to increase the understanding of the relationship between the implementation of circular
economy in firms and their different environmental management accounting and reporting practices.
The study is developed through an empirical analysis based on a survey addressed to a sample of Spanish
companies and designed to analyse different environmental accounting practices and measure the circular
economy-related activities introduced by companies to close the material loops in processes. Main results indicate
that circular economy activities are generally introduced by companies progressively, without clearly
responding to common patterns for the introduction of the different circular principles and activities. A
moderate correlation is observed between companies’ level of circular economy and their environmental
management accounting practices, with a more significant correlation for a higher number of circular activities,
particularly for firms that implement environmental management systems and have higher levels of
transparency and sustainability information policies.
Although companies are progressively adopting circular activities, the lack of specific indicators limits their
internal measurement. Consequently, the information provided by organisations about the closing of material
loops remains sporadic. The results highlight the need for built-in specific metrics to deploy environmental
accounting practices in circular economy models.Este trabajo presenta un modelo para medir la economía circular en las empresas desde un enfoque de contabilidad
medioambiental. Se analizan tanto el rango de actividades circulares como la intensidad con la
que son implementadas para contribuir al conocimiento de la relación entre la introducción de la economía
circular en las empresas y sus prácticas de contabilidad e información de gestión medioambiental.
El estudio se desarrolla a través de un análisis empírico llevado a cabo a través de una encuesta dirigida
a una muestra de empresas españolas diseñada para analizar las prácticas de contabilidad e información
medioambiental y de medición de las actividades relacionadas con la economía circular introducidas por las
empresas en sus procesos de cierre de círculos de materiales. Los principales resultados obtenidos indican
que las actividades de economía circular son generalmente introducidas por las empresas progesivamente,
sin responder de forma clara a paulas relacionadas con los distintos principios y actividades circulares. Se
observa una correlación moderada entre el nivel de circularidad de las empresas y sus prácticas de contabilidad
de gestión medioambiental, siendo la correlación mayor a mayor número de actividades, especialmente
en lo que concierne a la implementación de sistemas de gestión ambiental o el desarrollo de políticas de
transparencia y de información de sostenibilidad.
A pesar de que las empresas estén adoptando progresivamente actividades circulares, la falta de indicadores
específicos limita la medición interna de la economía circular por parte de las empresas. Por consiguiente,
la información proporcionada por las organizaciones acerca del cierre de círculos sigue siendo esporádica.
Los resultados ponen de manifiesto la necesidad de métricas integradas específicas para el despliegue de
prácticas de contabildiad medioambiental para modelos de economía circular
Sustainability reporting in view of the European sustainable finance taxonomy: Is the financial sector ready to disclose circular economy?
The European sustainable finance taxonomy requires financial and nonfinancial companies to provide investors with information about the environmental performance of their assets and economic activities. For financial institutions, making socially and environmentally responsible investments visible through a common label that guarantees specific standards for the entire European Union is crucial. Against this background, this study analyzes the evolution of sustainability reporting practices and their assurance in a sample of European financial institutions. To this end, we used a double qualitative methodological approach, based on (a) an external analysis of nonfinancial information and its relationship with the main economic-financial variables of the sample companies, and (b) a case study of a bank carried out through semi-structured interviews. This study provides an external measurement analysis of nonfinancial information in entities from different countries, which can contribute to broadening the scope and level of sustainability and circular economy accountability
Reporting measurements or measuring for reporting? Internal measurement of the Circular Economy from an environmental accounting approach and its relationship
This study presents a model to measure Circular Economy (CE) in businesses from the point of view of both the range of activities and the intensity with which they are implemented to close material circles. The scope of CE is analysed from an environmental accounting approach with the aim of knowing the degree of implementation of the CE and increasing our understanding of the relationship between the implementation of CE in firms and environmental management accounting and reporting practices (EMAR) developed.The results of an empirical survey conducted on a sample of Spanish companies will be used to examine environmental accounting and reporting practices that can be related to the implementation and measurement of CE and also to the progress being made by these companies in closing material and resource circles. The principal results show that CE activities are generally adopted without thinking in an integrated view of CE principles. Furthermore, there is a moderate correlation between the level of circularity of companies and the development of EMAR practices. This correlation is higher the greater the number of EMAR practices that have been developed, especially the implementation of environmental management systems or the development of transparency and reporting policies. Although firms are progressively adopting practices related to CE, the lack of specific indicators does not allow firms to specifically account for their effect on the closing of material loops.
Este trabajo presenta un modelo para medir la Economía Circular (CE) en las empresas desde la perspectiva del rango de actividades y de la intensidad con que son implementadas para el cierre de círculos de materiales. El alcance de CE ha sido analizado desde un enfoque de la contabilidad medioambiental con el objetivo de saber el grado de implantación de la CE y aumentar la comprensión de la relación entre la implementación de la CE en las empresas y el desarrollo de prácticas de contabilidad e información de gestión medioambiental (EMAR).Los resultados de una encuesta dirigida a una muestra de empresas españolas han sido utilizados para analizar las prácticas de contabilidad e información medioambiental que pueden estar relacionadas con la implementación y medición de la CE, y con el progreso realizado por dichas compañías en el cierre de círculos de materiales y recursos. Los resultados principales muestran que las actividades de CE son generalmente adoptadas sin tener una visión global e integrada de los principios de la CE. Además, existe una correlación moderada entre el nivel de circularidad de las empresas y el desarrollo de las prácticas EMAR. Esta correlación es mayor cuanto mayor número de actividades de EMAR se han desarrollado, especialmente la implementación de sistemas de gestión ambiental o el desarrollo de políticas de transparencia y de información de sostenibilidad. Las empresas están adoptando progresivamente prácticas que están relacionadas con la CE, pero la falta de indicadores específicos no permite que las empresas contabilicen específicamente su efecto en el cierre de círculos
Defining and measuring different dimensions of financial resources for business eco-innovation and the influence of the firms' capabilities
Despite the growing number of studies on eco-innovation, the measurement of the specific financial resources applied to the eco-innovation process by firms and its internal management have not been thoroughly elucidated to date. Therefore, the main objectives of this study is to define, classify, and measure different dimensions of financial resources applied to eco-innovation by firms and to analyse the influence of business' technological and environmental management capabilities in the efficient allocation of these resources to undertake investments in eco-innovation. Resource amounts and their quality, availability and public nature are measured using a novel approach that addresses the study of their different aspects as a whole. A partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM) on a sample of Spanish companies shows that different dimensions of financial resources influence the eco-innovative investment and the internal management of eco-innovation
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